[vox] Fwd: Re: Comments to CPR supporting Open Source needed! (deadline: 30 Sep.)]

Wed Sep 29 07:15:22 PDT 2004

----- Forwarded message from Larry Ozeran <lozeran at clinicalinformatics.com> -----

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On 9/28/04 at 9:24 AM Larry Ozeran <lozeran at clinicalinformatics.com> wrote:

From: Larry Ozeran <lozeran at clinicalinformatics.com>
To: vox at lists.lugod.org, vox-announce at lists.lugod.org
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 22:57:19 -0700
Subject: Re: [vox-announce] Comments to CPR supporting Open Source needed! (deadline: 30 Sep.)

Thanks to Henry, Emily, Joseph, Jonathan, and Greg for going to the CPR meeting and for creating and presenting your report. My political observations (during the last ten years) suggest physical presence carries the most influence in the capital and _each_ of you may have been considered to represent 20, 50 or even 100 interested OS supporters who could not come. Phone calls and letters are usually weighted more than fax or email, but filling out the online form should be comparable to a letter. Our government generally does listen to "the people", so the greater the public comment, the more weight it appears to be given in deliberations and final decisions. Those who want open source to have a bigger role in our government should both provide input (phone, letter, or form) and encourage friends not on these lists to do so as well. Even a single sentence like "I support greater use of open source software in state government" is helpful. I have called and written to the governor and our representatives in the past. If there are hundreds (or thousands) of responses, they often only want to know whether you are pro or con. It is important to make your supportive position clear in your first sentence.

- Larry

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>
>On 9/28/04 at 9:24 AM hajhouse at houseag.com wrote:
>
>>If you want to see open-source software in our State government, I
>>urge you to express your support in written form and submit it to the
>>California Performance Review. Submission instructions are here:
>>
>><http://cpr.ca.gov/feedback>
>>
>>You are free to base your letter on LUGOD's letter, which you can see in
>>our
>>CPR meeting report here:
>>
>><http://lists.lugod.org/pipermail/vox-outreach/2004-September/001048.html>
>>
>>BACKGROUND
>>
>>The CPR report contains a subsection recommending that state agencies use
>>open-source software where feasible in new projects and new contracts. It
>>reads in part:
>>
>>   Each year the State of California spends millions of dollars on
>>software,
>>   software maintenance and renewal. Many private and governmental
>>   organizations are turning to open source software as a cost-effective
>>   alternative to closed source software. The state should more
>extensively
>>   consider use of open source software, which can in many cases provide
>>the
>>   same functionality as closed source software at a much lower total cost
>>of
>>   ownership.
>>
>>	[...]
>>
>>
>>    A. For potential immediate savings, departments should take an
>>inventory
>>       of software purchases and software renewals in the Fiscal Year
>>       2004-2005 and implement open source alternatives where feasible.
>>
>>    A. Incorporate open source software as a viable alternative to any
>>       software procurement.
>>
>>   Today, when state agencies purchase software solutions they are
>required
>>   to look at best value, and often go through a formal procurement
>process
>>   wherein vendors submit proposals. Since open source code solutions do
>>not
>>   fit the traditional procurement model in that there is not usually a
>>   vendor promoting and proposing the product, it is recommended that
>state
>>   departments actively research and evaluate open source code
>alternatives
>>   prior to considering use of the traditional procurement model for
>>   software.
>>
>>	[...]
>>
>>   Fiscal Impact
>>
>>   The recommendation to inventory software purchases and software
>>renewals in FY
>>   2004-2005 and implement open source alternatives where feasible should
>>have no
>>   immediate fiscal impact. Agencies participating in this review could
>>fund any
>>   minor cost from their existing budgets.
>>
>>   The fiscal implications for the use of open source software can vary
>>widely
>>   depending how deep an organization is willing to use these technology
>>solutions
>>   and whether they are used at the desktop, server or other installs.
>>Savings
>>   could range from several hundred thousand dollars to millions. As
>>listed above,
>>   FTB realized savings of more than $300,000 on one software
>>installation. The
>>   Department of Transportation realized nearly $300,000 in savings on one
>>   application. Also, as software licensing and application development
>>costs
>>   continue to increase, organizations are looking at creative ways in
>>which to
>>   manage those costs. Looking to the open source community for
>>applications that
>>   serve the same function as closed source solutions may cause vendors to
>>be more
>>   flexible with pricing and licensing structures. Because these savings
>>will
>>   depend on individual agency actions, however, the savings resulting
>>from this
>>   recommendation cannot be estimated.
>>
>>
>>
>>http://report.cpr.ca.gov/cprrpt/issrec/stops/it/so10.htm
>>
>>--
>>Henry House
>>Please don't send me HTML mail! My mail system will reject it.
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>
>

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-- 
Henry House
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